This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning dish-like objects, and especially to such apparatus for washing and drying plastic trays or dishes on which meals to be frozen, packaged and sold are often placed.
Commonly, such dishes (often, and hereinafter, designated as "trays") must be thoroughly washed prior to use, preferably automatically so as to save the costs of hand-labor and to permit use of very hot water or other cleansing liquid. It is also important that they be in a more-or-less upright position at least while being dried and perferably also while being washed, to facilitate washing, draining and drying, and in certain applications it is desirable to convey them to and from the automatic washer and dryer in a horizontal position.
Automatic washers and dryers are known in which the trays are first manually stacked on edge in a special carrier; while in this position, cleansing solution is sprayed onto both sides of the upright trays, and drying air streams are thereafter applied to both sides of the trays to accelerate their drying. The upright cleansed and dried trays are then manually removed from the carrier and placed flat for subsequent handling. Such a system requires expensive hand-labor, or very elaborate equipment, to stack the trays upright prior to washing and drying, and to de-stack them into horizontal positions after washing and drying.
It is an object of the present invention to provide new and useful apparatus for the automatic cleaning of dish-like objects.
A further object is to provide such apparatus which accomplishes washing and drying of food trays.
Another object is to provide such apparatus which is effective, yet simple and reliable.